Best Wisconsin football players: Modern-era Mount Rushmore – From Ron Dayne to Jonathan Taylor

The best Wisconsin football players, including Jonathan Taylor and Joe Thomas, help to make up the Wisconsin Badgers modern-era Mount Rushmore.

It wasn’t always the case, but Wisconsin football has forced themselves back into the blue-blood conversation in the Big Ten. Wisconsin football had great years in the early 20th century, as well as in the middle of it. But throughout the 1960s to 1980s, Wisconsin was in a sorry spot. Then, a Hayden Fry disciple Barry Alvarez came over from Iowa and changed everything.

Since 1990, the Badgers have won six of their 14 conference championships. They have won their division five times since the Big Ten added the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 2011. One could argue Wisconsin is among the best programs in college football today that hasn’t made the College Football Playoff before. That all could change in 2020 if a few things break right for the Badgers.

So what we’re going to do today is look at the best players to have played for Wisconsin in the modern era (since 1980). Even though that first decade of inclusion for Wisconsin football is a complete wash, you’ll be surprised how many great players have dominated on the college gridiron for Alvarez and his predecessors to follow.

Here is the modern-era Mount Rushmore for Wisconsin football, as well as four honorable mentions.

Defensive tackle Wendell Bryant was part of the Badgers’ 1999 Rose Bowl victory, one where his sack helped Wisconsin seal the deal. Bryant was also a two-time Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year as an upperclassman in 2000 and 2001. While his NFL career was short-lived, he was a first-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals.

J.J. Watt first became a star at Wisconsin. The former Central Michigan Chippewas tight end transferred to Wisconsin in 2008. After redshirting that fall, he became a First-Team All-American during his redshirt junior season in 2010, helping Wisconsin win the Big Ten for the first time since 1999. The Lott Trophy winner has put together a hall of fame career with the Houston Texans.

While his NFL career was unspectacular, Montee Ball is a legend in Big Ten football. The two-time All-American helped Wisconsin win three straight Big Ten titles before going pro. He took home the Doak Walker Award as a senior in 2012 and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy as a junior in 2011. He was a second-round pick by the Denver Broncos but only played two years there.

Melvin Gordon had big shoes to fill after Ball left Madison. He responded marvelously with a tremendous 2014 NCAA campaign. The Doak Walker Award winner was a unanimous All-American and finished second in Heisman Trophy voting to Marcus Mariota of the Oregon Ducks. Gordon was a two-time Pro Bowler with the Los Angeles Chargers and now plays for the Broncos.